Visual merchandising combines both business and design with the objective of getting customers to purchase products. A creative display and attractive window presentation is mainly what visual merchandiser entails. When considering visual merchandising as your career, you may start with a diploma or degree. Whichever path you take, hands-on experience is required to show your talent in lighting, props and fixtures. This entices public buying.

Skills

The job of visual merchandising demands physical fitness because it involves climbing ladders, moving merchandise and setting up props. If you have selling floor experience, you are at a better place since most employers consider those people. You also need to have computer skills to be able to use the company intranet. The objective of a visual merchandiser is to increase sales and attract the attention of the buyers.

Minimum Education

In order to be a visual merchandiser you are required to have at least the minimum education level of high school. If you have a high school diploma, then you have the minimum education required for a merchandiser. In many cases, the employer recruits sale associates and trains them to fill the vacancies. For visual merchandiser training, it is recommended that you demonstrate professionalism, reliability and the ability to follow given instructions. Generally a formal education is all you require for advancement in a visual merchandising career.

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Associate's Degree

In some cases, a two-year associate's degree or a certificate in design and retail will offer hands-on experience through internships and academic training. Some institutes such as Fashion Institute of Technology ask for a portfolio during the admission process. An education program associate's degree covers basic concepts on how to create a display that attracts customers. Your goal as a visual merchandiser is to ensure that you catch the eyes of the people passing by and convince them to buy products they did not plan to.

Bachelor's Degree

If you have a bachelor’s degree, you are at a higher advantage in visual merchandizing. You qualify for a more lucrative position in this field. A four-year degree in visual merchandising covers a wider area of exhibition design, fashion merchandising, visual communication, business administration, retail management, marketing and graphic design. In the degree program, you will get the opportunity to tackle retail coursework like branding, textiles, customer psychology and buying, and display graphics.

Career Options

If you are a degree holder, you can step into a position with museums, trade show organizations, hospitality firms, theme parks, furniture stores and traditional retail organizations. You may also decide to specialize in other careers like fashion merchandiser, interior designer, store manager, store design showroom manager or merchandise planner. This field also entails creating sketches of displays based on the requirements of your clients. In this line of work you will be liaising with other professions to ensure every store has the expected visual impact.

Resources

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About the Author

Gibson Willner has been working as an editor since 2007, proofing newspapers, magazines, brochures, website content and books. He earned a Master of Education in reading from Winthrop College. His work has been published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and on tolerance.org.